This is a going to be a great thread!!!
Even though I can afford to go out and drop the money on $10 a yard material I just wont do it! I usually will buy my material when it is on sale and I can score it for $5 or less a yard.
But after working on a copy of a quilt that my MIL did 30 or so years ago I have a different view on quilting.
It was a utilitarian quilt made to keep a family member warm and used fabrics that she was able to glean because my wifes family was poor.
Then I looked at some of the quilts that my dads side of the family made out of necessity because they were a bunch of goat roping moonshiners and share croppers. So everything was made from flour sacks, sheets, or what ever they could trade for.
Now I am enjoying the "utilitarian" type of quilts, hand tied because it was quicker than hand sewing, different types/textures of fabrics, and I love the scrappy look!! Plus they tie in with my use of treadle sewing machines and the whole vintage shabby chic feel.
I do use sheets for the backing material and when Target has their "White Sale" I can get them for super cheap. I will buy sheets and curtains that are cotton at yard sales and thrift stores and now I am going to start buying cotton clothing for fabric.
This doesnt mean I wont visit the fabric stores for the sales or I am not going to keep making the pretty quilts out of the magazines or my own patterns. But for now I am going to go back to the root of quilting and enjoy the fruits of my recycling and gleaning.
Billy